


The Rules of Love

by AshVee



Category: The Covenant (2006)
Genre: Angst, Bromance, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-23
Updated: 2014-05-23
Packaged: 2018-01-26 06:12:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1677710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshVee/pseuds/AshVee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reid Garwin has heard rules about love his entire life. It was time, perhaps, that he found out if they were true.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Rules of Love

**Author's Note:**

> A very old piece of mine, edited and revamped a touch. I hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> Disclaimer: The Covenant, and any character there within, are the property of their individual owners, and therefore, given the state of my bank account, not my property. If they were, something like this might have happened.

_You always hurt the one you love._

Someone once told me that. The thought seemed foreign, false, and forbidden. Foreign. I’d never loved anyone in my life, and I’d hurt plenty of people. False. Why would you hurt someone you loved? Forbidden. I _knew._ I knew it was true on some level. Deep down, I didn’t really care. I just wanted to run from it.

Years passed and I didn't really think too much on the subject until it was thrown roughly back into my face. He might die tonight. He might walk out that door, in his tuxedo and dress shoes, and never again grace us with his presence. I might never fight with him again. Never rise to a challenge he presented. Never lay down another of my own. I might never again look him in the eye and know what he was thinking simply because I knew him.

My stomach churned. How was I supposed to stand idly by and watch that happen? How did he expect any of us to? Pogue, with his wrath and his edge, hadn’t stood against him. And Caleb? Caleb was no Pogue, not when it came to dealing with the difficult things. Caleb, who was so fucking good and sweet and gentle and everything that made me want to puke half the time. How could _he_ protect _us_?

_I love you and I'll do anything for you._

That was another thorn in my side. It made sense, but no one ever really meant it. If they had…If they had we wouldn't be here, now. I'd thought it before, once or twice. Thought about telling him that I fought with him because it was the only time I had all of his attention. That would have been too easy. Far, far too easy. So now, as I lean back against this building, eyes black beneath my pale eyelids, I'm watching them. I'm watching him stand, alone and battered, as Chase Collins, or was that Chase Pope, beat him to within an inch of his life.

My insides rolled. 

Tyler wasn't watching. I'm not sure he wanted to know how it was going to turn out. If you didn't know, there was always a chance things could work out better than you'd hoped. I wanted to know. I wanted to know every time that good for nothing laid a hand on what was mine. Sarah's. What was Sarah's. I shook inside. _Hers._ Like hell.

_If you love something, let it go._

Maybe that made sense. Maybe. Give the person you loved the freedom to be happy. But it also had a double meaning, like now, when Caleb was standing alone, one or two slow dodges away from willing away his birthright, his power. I crumpled inside when the power hit him, forcing him into the air as he ascended. If you loved something, how could you live with it gone?

I made the decision then, as I watched them fight, Chase throwing him through the door of the barn. I made the decision that no one else was willing to make because I was Reid Garwin. I was the outlier. I was the unpredictable. I was the one that wasn't willing to listen to the things people have said. I was the one that turned to my brother and clasped him into a crushing hug because I _knew._ I knew what I was about to do. Eyes still black I turned from him, leaving his blue eyes to stare at me in confusion. I growled as Chase crouched over Caleb's form, laying helpless in the mud.

" _I."_ I echoed both Chase and Caleb.

" _Will."_ Tyler took a step forward behind me. I heard his voice, strong but scared as he yelled at me.

" _You."_ I looked up to the dark sky, watching as lightning danced back and forth.

" _My."_ Tyler's hand closed around my shoulder and spun me around. He was scared. His face was drawn, but I knew that if one of us was going to go, it wasn't going to be Caleb. It couldn't be Caleb. They needed him too much. I needed him too much.

" _Power."_

I expected it to sound cooler. I'm not quite sure what I expected. I death rattle? A low growl of energy as it left my body? Maybe. It didn't really matter that I didn't get my out in flames exit because my eyes were still watching Caleb. I saw it and felt it as my power left my bones, tearing through my muscles and went to him. It was fair, I reasoned. He'd be alright. They were on a level playing field. That was all he really needed.

My world went black, and Tyler tried to keep my on my feet. I felt my knees hit first, then my chest. A part of me was grateful I'd fallen like that. Its how the hero fell in the movies. I wasn't a hero, but I was close enough. I was all the world was going to get.

_You always hurt the one you love._

_I love you, and I'll do anything for you._

_If you love something, let it go._

They've always said those things to me. Always, for as long as I can remember, I've heard those three statements about love. I couldn't understand them then. I really can't say as I do now, maybe it's the feeling of being more than myself now. The feeling of dying for something greater. Finally being about more than just Reid Garwin. I'm not sure. I do understand something though, and I'll tell you what it is. I am Reid Garwin. I am a son, a brother, and a friend. That is carved into my headstone now.

I can see him. Standing over my grave. It's really unfair to him. He couldn’t have seen that one coming. I couldn't care less. He needed it. He's crying.

_You always hurt the one you love._

I understood that now. I did hurt him. Not physically. Not on purpose, but I did. The second one I proved to myself as well. I did love him, and I died for him. Then again, I also proved it wrong, along with the last. I couldn't trust him. I couldn't live for him. I couldn't watch him die. Maybe I didn't really love him then. If that's true, maybe I didn't love him enough. Who knows. I loved him just enough to do what Reid Garwin does: the easy thing.

I am Reid Garwin. I was a son of Ipswich. I was a brother. I was a friend. I was a lady killer. I was a player, a cheat, and a liar. I was quite a few things. All of those didn't matter in those last seconds before my body dropped like lead. All that mattered was what he was.

He was Caleb Danvers. He was golden, a brother, a son, a friend. He was in love. He was truthful and brave and talented. They say you can't weigh one life against the other. I say you can weigh your own life. I always have, and made the appropriate decision. This time, I came out a bit light. This time, I found someone more important than myself, and for once in my life, and my death, I'm okay with that.

**Author's Note:**

> I always welcome any feedback.


End file.
